Alphaα & OmegaΩ
by Sweet Pix 95
Summary: They say with every beginning, there's always an end, but can it also be with every end, there's a beginning?
1. Apolcapyse

Presenting

©**Alphaα & OmegaΩ**©

"**They say with every beginning, there's always an end**

**But can it also be with every end, there's a beginning?"**

A _Sweet Pix_ original

-

Chapter One;__

_**Apocalypse**_

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

[(uh-pok-uh-lips)]

_A revelation or prophecy;_

_Comes at the end of world or time;_

_Comes from the Greek word for "revelation"._

-

-

-

**Irritation gnawed at his belly as the figure by his side kept her silence. The silence was getting to him. His itching curiosity left him tickled and silently squirming. His fingers raked through his already messy raven hair, an unconscious habit of his which has more often than not proved to be a sign of the cholericness within. Patience was not one of the virtues he possessed. That is, if he had any.**

**Unable to resist no longer, he sneaked a glance at the petite girl alongside him. In her arms, she held that bulky children's book close to her chest, her arms wrapped around it protectively. Her gaze was set on something faraway while she pondered upon seemingly never ending stream of topics.**

"**Why do you bother lugging that childish book around with you? Fairytales were only stories spun by adults to deceive little kids into believing the world is simple and untainted. You yourself ought to know that!" his sharp words cut through the peaceful quiet that once surrounded them.**

"**I know," she uttered the two syllables in a tone so low that normal ears would not have heard them.**

**Luckily for him, he was no ordinary boy and thus, did not possess ordinary sensory organs either.**

**In his peripheral vision, he glimpsed of the young girl's impassive countenance. Her lack of expression was so complete, he begun to wonder if she deign to give further response on the matter, a doubt that had just transformed to conviction when she said in an undertone, coloured with hesitance, "It was my mother's."**

**Alert, he waited motionlessly, afraid that whatever he might do would stop her from saying more.**

"**She often read it to me when I was young, or so I heard. The only evidence I have of the statements are small fragments of long forgotten memories and even so, they are much hazy and unclear. As hard as I tried, all I could glean were an occasional voice, filled with static, and an accompanying muddled picture of a smiling face, looking down upon me, a book within the hands belonging." She blinked and her throat convulsed.**

**The slight show of emotion vanished as swiftly as it had appeared.**

**Awkward silence blanketed them, a remnant of the unexpected revelation before. It robbed him of his breath, leaving him taking quick, short breaths through his slightly parted lips. In the back of his mind, he was sure that his confusion leaked through to his crimson orbs while the rest of his mind was free to ponder upon the information he had just taken in.**

"**Fairytales represent the happy endings that will never belong to me," she murmured, an emotion very familiar to him surfaced from bottomless murky depths of her eyes.**

**Ahh. Hopelessness. Despair.**

**He felt the same emotion wash over him as he thought of his own fate. But for some reason, a fervent wish evoked within him, a wish for her to forgo plunging into the same hollow darkness as him. No. Just the idea alone was unacceptable. No. He wanted to give her a shred of something to cling on and avoid falling into that deep infinite pit of gloom.**

"**Why though? Why trouble yourself over things that have yet to be confirmed? Fate has managed to surprise and best us so many a times. Why not choose to believe in that possibility?" he reasoned, though his conscience was squirming in protest.**

**She kept her silence for a minute. Then, she replied, "You're right. Why not?"**

**The corners of lips lifted into a ghost of a once brilliant smile. His heart sung with pleasure at the sight of her smile.**

**He was no idiot, far from that. The happiness at the sight of her smile, the urge to keep it in place. He knew what it all led to.**

**He was undeniably falling in love with the girl before him.**

_**No, love was too strong a word. **_**'Like'**_** would be a better one**_**, he reasoned with himself, though deep in his heart, he understood that that was untrue.**

**[~α&Ω~]**

**A persistent gaze was drilling holes into my back.**

**I resisted the urge to squirm.**

**The intense staring was only going to encourage my further refusal of sating the person's thirst for knowledge on my identity.**

**Yes.**

**Nothing else.**

**After all, Hotaru Imai is not one to show signs of weakness.**

**My own thirst and curiosity, however, heightened with every prolonged minute till I could no longer simply ignore. I pushed back the sleeve of my sweater, revealing a peculiar looking diamond-rimmed digital watch, with odd pictures replacing the traditional time and date. Pressing swiftly a few buttons on the side, I had my fly-camera turned on and all in tip top condition.**

**The creepy stalker was revealed to be a young girl whose age could not be much far off from my own. Her mahogany eyes held an air of mystery, yet not a single shred of emotion was to be found within them. Her rosy pink lips were slightly parted. Gazing at those unmoving lips, I found myself almost hearing them utter a silent plea for help. Long auburn hair was imprisoned in two tightly bounded high pigtails, not a single strand out of place. Her skin was a shade was pale that it was so close to transparency. One could almost see the rhythmic pulsing of her blood through her veins under pale, clear membrane. It created a false sense of vulnerability about her.**

**Why false, though?**

**Never underestimate the capabilities of Hotaru Imai. My observation skills are definitely, and most naturally, that of a much higher level than your average human being, alike the other aspects of me, and I could tell from the hard glint most shockingly present in the girl's eyes that there was no such thing as vulnerability when it came to anything concerning her.**

**The girl turned her cold gaze to face directly at the camera, as if she knew of its presence. Instantly, I knew that she was special. Like myself.**

**Something was wrong. Definitely, horribly amiss. Because that COULD NOT be panic that was gradually surfacing in her eyes.**

**That was the last thought I had before everything became incoherent as I watched pale eyelids slowly slid over those disturbing amber eyes and the girl bit by bit shifted to oblivion…**

**-**

**-**

**Seeing once again the same girl before me, I could not help felt wary. The once suspicious and guarded girl had transformed to the cheerful girl smiling brightly, seemingly free and without a care.**

**How could that hostile female have such a 360 degrees change?**

**Worse still, how had everyone fallen under her spell so swiftly? It was as though they had lived together and known each other for years.**

**But how could that be?**

**When I arrived a week ago, there was no such person by the name of Mikan Sakura. The one who claimed to be her grandfather at then was only a grumpy old hermit.**

**Nagoya was a small city, actually closer to a town rather than city. It was a place where everyone knew each other.**

**So theoretically, it was impossible for a person I did not regconise to abruptly sprout up, existing in everyone's memories but mine. Except I did regconise her, but just not in the identity she was assuming now.**

**Narrowing my eyes, I watched her laughing merrily those around her.**

**What I had thought to be true had now turned upon me.**

**I had thought of her as someone who shared my pain and solitude. I had thought of her as a prospect candidate for understanding me, for being my first friend.**

**All shattered now. They were all shattered now. Yet, all I could do was to watch and observe from the sidelines.**

_**I could only wait and see… **_

[~α&Ω~]

"How is the princess?" a voice full of authority directed a question at Narumi.

"She's doing fine, Kazu-sama. The princess has her friends with her and I assure you that they will take good care of her. I cannot say the same for the elementary division principle, however. It seems that he would be making his move soon…" Narumi answered the question dutifully.

"There is nothing that can be done for that except for us to wait and watch over the princess. Moreover, the Black Cat would be by her side."

"Of course, Kazu-sama. But what about the prophecy?" Narumi expressed the doubt that he had long had in his heart.

"I have my own plans in store for that. For fourteen years, we've guarded this secret well and as long as it you do your job to assure that it remains so, all would be well." The high school division principal answered in a calm tone.

_But for how much longer can they hide the truth? _

[~α&Ω~]

"Hime-sama, Hime-sama!"

It was the same scene she was facing again.

"Who _are_ you? What do you want with me?!" Mikan screamed into the total darkness that surrounded her, in a futile attempt to get some answers out of that eerie voice.

"Hime-sama, please hurry! Please hurry!"

Echoes of the last word rang in Mikan's ear incessantly, frightening her immensely with each wave of the echoes hitting her alike the force of a crashing wave.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry, HURRY!"

Mikan awoke with a jolt, throwing off her covers and sitting bolt right on her bed with a film of sweat glistening upon her face.

"Hurry…?"

Mikan cocked her head slightly, looking rather baffled.

She shook her head, in an attempt to clear her thoughts. Lazily, she stretched, glancing at the clock set on her bedside table. Her eyes widened at the time.

"7.50AM?!!!!!" Mikan shrieked, making her well heard all over the academy.

"Oh no, oh no! Jin-Jin's going to kill me!!! I've got to hurry!!" She rambled on as she hurried through her morning routines.

Running towards the classroom, she wondered about the lunch menu for that day when her train of thoughts was put to an abrupt stop as she fell most ungracefully onto the floor.

"Late again, Teddy-bears?" came the taunting voice of the ever-popular Black Cat.

She screeched as her slurred brain finally processed his words. Giving him a final glare, she turned her back upon him and continued her dash to the classroom.

Barging into the room, she immediately bowed and apologized, "Sorry, Jinno-sensei!"

When she received no response in return, she glanced up, only to shockingly realize that the classroom was completely empty.

"Don't tell me you forgot that we're supposed to be cleaning-up the Alice Type classrooms today?" the sound of Natsume's mocking voice coming from behind her.

Whirling around, she hollered mercilessly into his face, "Why didn't you say that earlier?!!"

Without waiting for his reply-although his smug expression had said it all- she stalked off crossly, muttering curses under her breath.

[~α&Ω~]

Panting heavily, she finally arrived at the Special Ability classroom.

Seeing her arrival, Tsubasa grinned, playfully reprimanded her, "Finally here, Mikan? We thought you weren't coming! What'cha still lazing around for?"

She shot her signature smile in his direction, and then set out on helping out as much as she could.

[~α&Ω~]

"Ah chooo!"

Mikan was sneezing as she organized the antique bookshelf in the Special Ability classroom. The seniors themselves had already mentioned that it has not been touched in _years. _The reason was probably that the bookshelf was hidden behind partition.

Seeing the thick layer of dust that had gathered and the messy pile of books upon the shelf, no one was willing to do the job. Thus, Mikan volunteered herself.

As much as she was rather sensitive to the dust in the air, the task at hand gave her much satisfaction, seeing the books cleared of dust and arranged neatly upon the shelves. Her grandfather had always said one would never succeed with a disorganized environment.

The sight of a rather ancient-looking book piqued her interest resulting in the sudden itch in her fingers. She fingered the spine of the book but once she came in contact with it, the text suddenly shone with extreme brightness, blinding the unprepared Mikan.

Her conscious was slipping; she was falling into an abyss of darkness.

[~α&Ω~]

_**Meanwhile, somewhere else on this planet...**_

Clutching the musical box in one hand, the petite girl winded it up with the other while locking gaze onto the twirling figurines fixated upon the platform. Her eyelids slowly slid over mesmerising olive orbs, humming along with the soft melody emitting from circular box within her hands. Locks of short topaz hair danced lightly in the gentle breeze. The musical box fell onto the soft mattress below with a thud as an abrupt jolt of electricity surged through her small form. Her eyes widened with raw shock as she drew a sharp breath through clenched teeth…

-

-

Eyelids heavy with fatigue, were slowing drawing over pools of enthralling amber. His drooping head snapped up with one fluid moment as he rubbed weary orbs of amber. He eyed the workload of papers piled up upon his desk disdainfully as he massaged his temples in an attempt to soothe a splitting headache. The dim light of the lamp fell upon his angled face, accentuating his handsome features. Further loosening the dangling chequered tie around his neck, he let out a heavy sigh. Suddenly, he stopped, mid-action, while his other hand gripped the edge of the table tightly, his jaw slackening...

-

-

A slivery laugh escaping her lips as she brushed off the pink petal on the tip of her slightly pointed nose, eyes twinkling with amusement. She lay on her back, propped up somewhat by her elbows at her side, watching petals of pale pink gradually spiralling down from branches laden full of cherry blossoms. Titling her head back, she allowed her eyelids to sheathe impish hazel orbs as she breathed in the sweet fragrance of the beautiful flowers. Tresses of shimmering copper swayed with her every movement. All of a sudden, her arms caved underneath her as her eyes shot open, disbelief evident in them...

[~α&Ω~]

"What… was that?" Mikan questioned herself, still rather dazed from before.

She reached for the same book again but this time, not only did the text gleam, the book also lifted off the shelf and hovered in the air in front of Mikan, while she could only stare with awe.

Mikan slowly stretching her hands towards the floating book, her line of sight completely focused upon it. The instant her fingertips brushed against it, a tingling feeling shot down her arm to the rest of her body, right down to her toes. The book felt rather cool to touch, somewhat akin to pouring iced water over your hand, although it seemed to be emitting warmth at the same time. The text carved upon the thick cover was very much alien to her. It did not look like modern Japanese characters, French, English or Chinese. Yet, there was a voice ringing in her head, seemingly telling her what was written.

"The Tome… of Apocalypse…?"

An abrupt zephyr came out of nowhere, flipping the unusually thin pages of the book which were yellow with age.

A poem was written upon the page where the book now opened to but before Mikan could unconsciously read it once again, her name was hollered into the small corner where she was, shattering the silence.

"Mikan!"

Instinctively, she looked for the source of the voice, finding a merry Tsubasa peeking out from behind the partition.

"Hey, Mikan, are you about done there? We have taken care of the rest of the classroom so we were thinking of going to grab some food since it's close to lunch time. We're all feeling kinda hungry so we're not gonna wait if you take your time over there..." A teasing tone laced his voice, knowing very well that Mikan Sakura would never refuse the temptation of food.

"EH?! Sempai, don't leave me behind! I'm almost done here, just give me another minute!" Her reply was just as expected.

Tsubasa chuckled at the frantic movements of his cute kōhai, shaking his head at the same time.

[~α&Ω~]

"Persona, the time has come for us to carry out our plan." A cold voice pierced through the silence.

"Yes, my lord. It is time for us to bring that Sakura into the darkness," was the answering equally emotionless reply.

"I trust you will not fail me this time. Go, and bring that insolent brat with you the next time I call for you."

[~α&Ω~]

Nastume Hyuuga was at his usual haunt, lying upon a branch of a huge shady tree, snoozing lightly with his manga keeping the light out of his eyes. He did not stir when the bell rang, signalling the end of class. Neither did he awake when a young girl clad in the Middle School Division approached him, or so it seemed.

"Hey, Nastume! You _are_ up there, aren't you? Answer me Nastume!" Mikan screamed up the tree, her patience thinning rapidly.

Gazing up at the leafy branches, she circled the tree, anger radiating out from her in waves with the earlier incident still fresh in her mind.

"Boo," he said in a monotone, appearing from behind her.

Mikan stumbled backwards at the sound of his voice, almost landing on her butt but thankfully, she managed to stabilise herself in time.

"Natsume no baka!!! You didn't have to scare me like that!!" she shrieked in his face, pounding against his chest with her fists at the same time.

Natsume deftly caught both her wrists in a hand and slammed her back against the sturdy trunk of the tree, a smug expression on his visage.

Shock engulfed warm pools of chocolate brown as they stared into piercing orbs of ruby.

She was getting more and more edgy by the minute. She was feeling immensely uncomfortable with her both her hands stuck above her head in that comprising position and she was starting to melt under his intense scrutiny.

"N-Natsume," she stuttered unsurely. "Someone might see..."

"Polka, do I look like I care?" he drawled out in that smooth, velvety tone of his, more of a statement than a question.

Dipping down, he kissed her full on the lips, holding it there for a long, passionate moment.

Mikan stayed still against his moving lips.

For one, she had yet to get over his sudden initiative.

More importantly, however, she had lost her control over movement when she felt that electricity pass through her the second their lips connected. She could still feel his lingering warmth and minty taste even when his lips had long left hers. Her heart _ached_ for that same sensation again.

Still in a daze, she felt the pressure holding down her wrists gradually dissipating and her arms swung back to rest uselessly by her side.

Once she had managed to gather her wits back together, she found herself looking at the back of Nastume Hyuuga getting further and further out of her reach.

"Natume, you idiot!! Wait up!!!" she shouted, quickly running to catch up, while Natsume remained impassive to her calls.

[~α&Ω~]

"The prophecy has been set into motion. Look out for the others and send them here as soon as possible. Hurry, I'll be waiting." The screen flashed, and then turned black.

"Narumi, you heard that. I assume you know what that means," the compose voice spoke out an order.

Panic and worry was hidden within orbs of violet as they shifted to gaze at the wooden panelled floor. "Yes Kazu-sama. I will arrange for the search party and make the necessary preparations."

[~α&Ω~]

_I edited this chapter. Again. _

_Not much difference though. BUT, if you guys notice, the first part of the story is in __**bold**__. And it is there for a reason. Make a guess, people. I won't be revealing anything soon. xDD___

_This chapter may seem kinda confusing but I really love to be surprised when I read a story; some unexpected twist or revelation, a story with suspense. So that's how I want my story to turn out to be and, also I wanna see if there are people smart enough to be able to read my intentions for this story. Don't worry; things will start clearing up in the later chapters. _

_I'm a new writer so I don't expect this story to be able to compare with works of writers like "My Hopeless Romantic .It's not perfect so I would be really happy if you could point out to me where you think is unsatisfactory as long as you don't take your anger out on me by making mean and non-constructive comments; I'm not your punching bag._

_Most of all, I wanna thank KRISSY(aka crazygirl18) !!_

_Thanks a lot for encouraging me, giving me pointers and stuff! I love you to bits!!_

_Go check out her stories, by the way. They're SUPER GREAT! Anyone with sense would acknowledge that. _

_I'll end of with this: _

Leave a comment or don't leave at all! MUAHAHAHA. (currently on sugar high)

_**Sweet Pix © **_

Top of Form

Bottom of Form


	2. Troubles

Presenting

©**Alphaα & OmegaΩ**©

"**They say with every beginning, there's always an end**

**But can it also be with every end, there's a beginning?"**

A _Sweet Pix_ original

-

Chapter Two;

_**Troubles**_

_Dear Lord, can you take it away?_

_The pain in my heart just follows me by day_

_And at night, it stalks me like the shadows on the wall…_

_Oh my goodness._

-

-

-

With worry etched deeply onto the planes of his face, Narumi paced along the length of the faculty room. His right hand, fisted, was pounding into the palm of his left that was held in front of him.

"You _haven't_ told her yet?!" the incredulity in her tone was greatly highlighted, with a hint of exasperation in the background.

"I know, I _know_. But how am I supposed to break it to her? I can't possibly just drop a bombshell on her like that! I'm supposed to keep that smile on her face, not wipe it off!" Narumi clenched his fists tightly, bleaching his knuckles a pasty white, helpless frustration further highlighted by the agitation in his voice.

"But Narumi, wouldn't you rather she find it out from your lips? Don't you think her heart will break when she realizes that you kept a matter of such great importance from her?" her gentle counseling was guiding him towards the right course of action to take.

"You're right, as always, Serina." Heaving a great sigh, he resigned himself to the fact that he had to be the messenger of this gloomy news.

[~α&Ω~]

Chaos reigned in the class B, as always. The substitute teacher Fukutan had long escaped in fear of the students contained within the classroom.

Mikan sitting at her desk, twirling a lock of her chestnut hair with a finger while starring off into blank space was quite the sight to behold. The angle which the light shone upon her face accentuated her stunning features, the dreamy look in her chocolate orbs added to the effect.

All of the male specimens within ten feet were fawning over the oblivious beauty.

Well, almost.

Crimson orbs, too, were eyeing the brunette but not with the same look of adoration. Instead, it was annoyance and concern that coloured his striking eyes, with a rather characteristic frown to match.

Abruptly, a flame lit upon his index finger, which the flame-wielder held just inches from the brunette's silky auburn locks.

The smell of burning filled the air, snapping the brunette beauty out of her reverie.

"NATSUME!!"

[~α&Ω~]

Mikan stared at the space before, her finger unconsciously coiling a lock of her silky hair as she pondered upon the information that she had just absorbed a while ago.

-

_Mikan happily skipped down the hallway, towards the room that she had occupied for the last two years. Catching sight of her otou-san standing before the door of her room, back facing her, she skidded to a stop with a silly grin upon her face. _

"_Otou-san, what are you doing here?"_

_Narumi spun round to face Mikan, though the somber look upon his countenance had not been within her expectations._

"_O-otou-san! What's wrong?!" anxiety laced her voice, a matching expression on her face. _

"_Mikan-chan, there's something I need to tell you. Could we go in to discuss this?" Watching as his serious look take on a more sorrowful one was feeding to the flames of her steadily growing panic._

"_Of course, otou-san," Mikan muttered nervously before she side-stepped him to unlock the door to her room. _

_Once they were in the room, Mikan pulled up two chairs then setting herself down on one, leaving the other for Narumi. _

"_Mikan-chan… I know this may sound very sudden but… you will be transferring to another branch of Alice Academy in a month's time." _

_Mikan proceeded to wordlessly stare at him once the words had left his lips, still in greatly stunned by the words he had just uttered. _

_When her jumbled up mess of a brain finally fully processed the information that was just given to her, she parted her lips to let loose one hell of a shriek but before she could do so, warm hands covered her mouth, muffling any noise that she would have made._

"_Mikan-chan, I know it would be hard on you but could you please promise that you won't tell anyone about this? It is a matter of great importance that no one finds out this piece of information until the day you leave itself, even Hotaru-chan," Narumi said while looking straight into her caramel orbs, revealing the worry and stress that was hidden by the sorrow before._

_With tears streaming down her smooth cheeks, Mikan nodded slightly. The warmth pressed onto lips vanished, though there was a lingering scent of lavender. _

"_Why, otou-san, _why_?! I have worked hard to control my Alice and my grades have been improving! Why?!" Mikan choked out through heartrending sobs, with more tears cascading down her cheeks._

_Narumi gently hushed her sobs, holding her in a tight embrace the whole time. _

"_Mikan, listen to me. This isn't your fault," Narumi told her soothingly, stroking her hair at the same time._

_His attempts to calm the whirl of feelings raging within her were slowly taking effect. The heavy heaving of sobs gradually ceased, though the running tears did not._

"_If it's not my fault, then whose fault is it?" Mikan questioned in a whispered voice, as if afraid of the answer._

"_No one is to blame for your transfer; it's just the best course of action for you to take."His voice was tender and full of understanding._

_Mikan resumed her sobbing once again, pressing herself onto him, fingers instinctively curling against Narumi's chest, unknowingly catching onto the material of the gaudy shirt._

_Tears soaked Narumi's shirt, wet patches showing on the brightly__-coloured__ cloth. Narumi stroked her head in a continuous action, patiently waiting for her calm down from her break down. _

_When her seemingly never ending tears finally dried, Narumi untangled himself from her._

"_Mikan, you have to treasure the time you have left with your friends. Even I have no idea as to when you will return, or if you are returning or not. Spend the time you have left wisely and leave no room for regrets."_

_In a soft whisper, he gave some last words of advice before he stood up and left the room, silently closing the door behind him. _

_-_

After Narumi's departure, Mikan was left alone in her room to think things out. She had quickly arrived to the same decision as what Narumi had advised. Yet, the whole occurrence with Narumi could not stop replaying in her mind.

A small part of her mind noted a source of warmth at the small of her back. Something that was getting hotter and hotter all the while.

Wait… This sounds familiar…

"NATSUME!!"

Mikan screeched when she caught sight of the burning flame that engulfed the tip of her precious hair, with an ominous shade to her voice.

Murderous intent coursed through her veins as she glared ferociously at the source of the trouble, currently of which refers to the smug face of Nastume Hyuuga.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she inhaled deeply through her mouth while she snapped her fingers, at which the flame instantly vanished.

"_**Mikan, you have to treasure the time you have left with your friends."**_

With Narumi's words ringing in her ears, Mikan shoved the murderous thoughts down and forced a strained smile on her face.

"Natsume-kun, do you want to come with us to Central Town later? Everyone's going, even You-kun," the girl said in a deliberately honeyed voice that stunned all of the present occupants of the classroom. Yes, everyone, that's right but not all had not shown it in their faces.

For once the great, almighty Natsume Hyuuga was speechless.

He blinked. Once. Twice.

Then finally he broke out of his stupor.

"Who wants to go out with you, stupid. I'll rather not be seen out with an idiot," he said in his usual monotone and impassive face.

The blood vessel on the verge of bursting stood out on the usually smooth forehead as Mikan's face was dyed red with anger, her eyebrows twitching unconsciously.

The gathering audience watched the exchange with bated breath, though most had already anticipated the end of the little couple's daily fight, which most certainly deserves the award for the most cliché ending of all time.

"…Ichigo-kara."

His lips parted to give voice to the last insult that tore apart every single shred of tolerance she once had towards the boy.

"NATSUME HYUUGA NO HENTAI!!!"

And most of their classmates' eardrums.

[~α&Ω~]

Mikan massaged her temples, still stressed over the last conversation the girl had with the black cat, if you could call it one.

Why couldn't they be together for five minutes without causing her to be close to bursting a vessel or the people around them to be on the verge of turning deaf?

How was she supposed to be able to forge some good memories to bring with her when she leaves under these circumstances?

A heavy sigh burdened with worries escaped her cherry lips.

Just the thought of her troubling, nearing departure further increased the dull aching in her heart.

Yet, none of her friends would even know till the day she was leaving them, leaving the school, leaving the place that has been her home for close to four, long years.

Being the person her grandfather had raised her to be, she tried her best to shoo away those saddening thoughts and cheer herself up, of which, in a way, she did actually succeed in, somehow.

She was going to make full use of the remaining month she had left, Mikan thought as she slowly started planning the actions and moves she would make in the next month.

[~α&Ω~]

Mikan sighed for the nth time of the day.

The quiet was _really_ getting to her, Ruka thought as he witnessed her fidgeting in her seat. She proceeded to turn and look at the empty seat beside her then sigh again.

This was the routine she had repeated all day, throughout all their classes and frankly speaking, it was even starting to get on the ever patient Ruka's nerves, not to mention Hotaru, who was just sitting a few seats away.

As much as he knew it was purely out of worry for the Natsume who was on a mission, there was always a limit to a person's patience, although he himself acknowledged that Mikan was still far from crossing that line.

Ruka's hand stopped midway stroking the rabbit in his arms, twitching violently as he heard audible sigh from his left. To add to the list, he also heard something that sounded faintly like the snapping of a pencil end which definitely spelled something ominous.

He groaned.

Nastume's absence was absolutely nothing healthy for _all of them_.

-

-

Mikan had most definitely noticed Ruka's annoyance despite his feeble attempts at trying to disguise it.

She had chose to ignore it as she felt she would be much better off spending her time thinking out her game plan rather than to smother Ruka's growing flame of irritation.

Out of habit, she had turned to her right, expecting insults or the cover of another hentai manga but all she met with was silence.

She sighed. Again.

Natsume's absence only reminded her of the biggest point of her plan and how she had close to nothing as to carry out that part.

Well, okay so she had zip, nil, nada, absolutely no idea at all.

So what?

She would figure something out… soon enough.

Or maybe not…

She sighed again but this time out of frustration rather than helplessness as she realized she was starting to doubt herself. No, she could not give up. She would continue hoping and brainstorming until she found the right solution to this problem, which, in her eyes, was a major crisis.

Out of the corner of her eye, she had seen Ruka's hand come to an abrupt standstill. She had immediately dismissed it, knowing it would take much more for the sweet Ruka to actually blow up.

The snapping of a broken pencil end, however, was a totally different story.

She knew the source of the sound and the exact consequences if she refused to treat it with absolute seriousness. After all, she had known Hotaru long enough to have at least that basic piece of knowledge.

She immediately sobered up and made a commendable effort to pay attention to the horrors of math, considering how she usually had no tolerance for the ranting of Jinno-sensei.

She had also noticed how Ruka's stiff body had completely relaxed after she snapped out of it and had grudgingly committed it to memory while grumbling under her breath.

But slowly, time had chipped away at her resolution of concentrating on the dullest subject in history.

Her mind once again turned to her greatest and most serious problem at the moment:

How was she going to pull Natsume out of that never ending darkness, of which both parties held a death grip on each other?

It was not going to be an easy ride, she knew that for sure, to try and separate those two.

She had managed to stop a sigh halfway out of her lips and instantly felt relieved. She knew that was all it would take to set off the time bomb that was quickly ticking away.

She was not going to add to her list of problems by starting another argument with Hotaru. Her life was already far complicated enough.

Much to her relief, the bell signaling the end of lessons reverberated at that particular moment.

She hurriedly escaped the room, in which contained that empty seat beside her which only pressed her troubles much harder to her mind, back to her room where she would most likely be able to notice his return, considering his room was situated just above hers.

[~α&Ω~]

Mikan waited out in the balcony with nothing but the sheer sleeveless nightdress she had on to ward off the chilling wind that was blowing her way that night.

The hot cup of chocolate in her hands was not doing much good either.

Mikan sipped the cup of chocolate as she continued to strain her eyes at the darkness that surrounded her, looking out for a glimpse of Natsume's form as her mind anxiously pondered endlessly upon his safety and well-being, but with the trouble of her departure in one month's times still deeply imprinted in the back of her mind.

Hearing the rustle of leaves, a shiver shuddered through her frame. The next thing she felt was a source of warmth near the small of her back then…

"Boo," Nastume uttered the word with extreme boredom.

Nevertheless, Mikan jumped out of skin, glaring at the root of her troubles once she got over her scare.

"You baka! Do you know how worried I was?! You still have the guts to scare me like that?! Nastume baka!" she was close to screaming but remembering how late it was, she toned it down. She was beating her tiny fists onto Nastume, however, to make up for the lower volume, it seems.

Nastume stood there motionlessly, crimson eyes reflecting his boredom, knowing that the flame of her anger would eventually die down.

A sudden hiss escaped his clenched teeth as Mikan hit a sore spot. He hurriedly tried to cover it up with a cough but it was too late already.

Mikan's attention was already focused on the wound on his well-built chest, with fresh blood still flowing from it. Trembling fingers came in contact with the damp, torn sides of the black shirt on the edges of the wound, staining them with the sticky crimson substance.

"Nastume… You're injured…" she said in a daze, staring at the open wound, fingers still lingering on it.

Giving her head a violet shake, she quickly gathered her wits and ushered Natsume out of the cold air while examining him for any other signs of mishap. She found one on his right calf and another near his left wrist.

She mechanically took out the first aid box that every room in the dormitory was equipped with, although the feelings within her were a total mess as she had long grown used to this routine.

Only when she was dabbing at the wounds with antiseptic did she realize that they were much deeper and serious than she had expected. She felt the familiar sensation of tears stinging in her eyes. She hastily reached up to wipe the now falling tears but a slight tug on her wrist stopped her.

She looked up with glassy caramel eyes and found Natsume staring down at her wordlessly, with an emotion she could not identify in his eye-catching crimson orbs.

He raised his uninjured arm to her face but Mikan tried even harder to hide her face from him. He caught her chin between his forefinger and thumb, forcing her to face him, while using his other hand to gently wipe away the tears rolling down her cheeks.

"It's unfair, Natsume," she said in a whisper, after a moment of staring at him with glazed over eyes.

Natsume said not a word, only continuing to hold his gaze with Mikan's wet chocolate orbs.

The pressure on Mikan's hand was slowly lessening. Without a moment's hesitation, she snatched her hand away to frantically wipe away the still falling tears while bowing her head downwards.

When she finally dampened the flow of her tears, she resumed the action of dabbing medication at Natsume's exposed wounds, keeping her silence all the time.

"But this is life." Natsume uttered the four words in such a low voice that it was almost carried away by the wind.

As much as Mikan tried to deny that, deep down inside, she had to agree with it.

Yes. Life was never fair.

[~α&Ω~]

"Don't you think Mikan's been a little strange lately?" Ruka directed this question to the petite girl sited in front of the computer while he took a sip of the cup of coffee in his hands.

"Yes. It seems like she has something on her mind her mind bugging her." The raven haired girl's immediate answer was full of absolute confidence.

Ruka nodded his head in agreement.

"I agree. Remember that day Natsume burned her hair again? Yet, at the start, she invited Natsume along to Central Town…"

"Yes. It was from that day did her behavior start turning exceptionally strange," Hotaru voiced her observation to Ruka.

"She must be hiding something from us… But she _must_ have a reason for keeping something from us, she _must_," Ruka said with frustration thick in his voice.

"Yes, but I will be sure to force it out from her," Hotaru's violet orbs shone with determination as she said this, seemingly lost in the nooks and crannies of her brilliant mind.

Ruka found himself backing away from Hotaru as the hard look of resolve in her eyes frightened even him.

Poor Mikan, he thought.

[~α&Ω~]

Panting heavily, Mikan ducked into an inconspicuous shed that was hidden by the shadows of the surrounding trees.

Once in the safety of it, she cautiously opened the rotting timbered door slightly, peering out through the crack.

A flash of blur accompanied with a slight whirring sound told her of Hotaru's passing by. Upon that, a sigh of relief escaped her cherry pink lips.

Watching alertly for any signs of movement, she waited for a moment before exiting the dark shed. After being hounded and probed by the infamous Queen of Blackmail for a whole day, she could not afford to be let down her guard.

Somehow, predictably, she had found something amiss about her for the past few days and thus proceeded to use all methods possible to coerce her into admitting the problem.

Mikan had had an extremely hard time shaking off her questioning, always managing to escape at the last second.

The minute she was out in the open, she made a quick scan of her surroundings to make sure Hotaru was not present and also to find her way back to the dormitories.

Just when she had confirmed the surroundings to be clear, a blur of black appeared before her eyes before she felt a slight earthquake on the scale of one. Then throw in plenty of incomprehensible shouting into the mixture and what do you get?

The chaotic blend of Natsume Hyuuga and fan girls, of course.

Mikan's caramel orbs first widened with astonishment then slowly returning to their normal size with amusement clearly embedded in them.

So she was not the only one being pursued, eh. She sniggered lightly at that thought.

Noticing the closing distance between herself and the hoard of fan girls, she saw with horror the imminent danger of staying even a second longer on the exact spot she was at.

Moving hastily aside, she realized that the shed she had sought refuge in was not too far away.

Seeing her chance to completely avoid any accidents with the approaching group of trampling elephants, she hurriedly grabbed it as she sprinted to the shed.

Closing the door upon the scene the fan girls treading the piece of land into flat ground, she released a sigh of relief. But it was abruptly cut short when a warm hand came from behind and totally covered her mouth, muffling the screams of surprise that had erupted from within her.

"Shut up, Polka. Do you want them to know we're here?" the familiar drawl had been brought down a notch or two, yet not missing the confident and commanding tone that was hardly ever absent in his voice. She, however, in their position then, could not see the traces desperation evident in his fiery orbs which would have completely given him away.

After a moment hinting of intimidation and yielding, Mikan begun struggling more fiercely and even contemplated upon sinking her teeth into his flesh. After all, he was the one that would be at greater loss if they were found by his maniac fans.

"Polka Dots, do you want _Imai_ to find us here?" he tried once more to make her submit, this time the low baritone was coloured with an underlying hint of a threat.

The pressure of Natsume's warm hand slowly released as her elfin frame immediately fell limp in his arms at the mention of Hotaru and she most certainly did not and _could not_ risk letting Hotaru learn the truth.

She could definitely picture the smirk on his face, one embedded with the word "Victory". Just the thought of that made her pride let loose an indignant roar.

But what could she do?

They waited in silence which grew more and more awkward with each passing moment.

Driven close to insanity by the lack of noise, Mikan began shuffling her feet while casting her gaze towards the points of her shoes.

"What is it?"

The sudden question that was voiced by Natsume caught her by surprise, causing her to give a violet jump.

When she had gotten over her shock, she threw a question back to Natsume's in return.

"What _are_ you referring to, Natsume?" she huffed, tired of his indirect way of speaking.

"What is it that has been bothering you?! What is it that Imai desperately wants to know?!" he seemingly exploded with pent up frustration, while he directed a livid glare at Mikan that pinned her to the spot, crimson orbs flaring with fury.

"We…well…well…"

His sudden outburst rendered her stuttering and close to speechless.

"Hey! I hear him! Over here!" the high-pitched exclamation of the obsessed fan caught the attention of many others and also that of our dear Mikan and Natsume.

Mikan desperately tried to keep her relief to herself but her caramel orbs had long betrayed her.

Natsume glowered at her, his crimson orbs clearly saying, 'I'm not finished with you'.

The two then saw their chance and quietly sneaked out. They had already gotten much of a head-start when they heard the distant shouts and screaming of Natsume's obsessed fan girls.

Mikan, seeing Natsume distracted by the violet stampede heading towards them, hurriedly crept away, taking refuge in the shade of a nearby, small cluster of trees.

She rested there, catching her breath and reflecting on how lucky she had been, to be able to escape from Natsume's clutches.

She knew, however, she could not run from Natsume's, Hotaru's or anybody else's questioning forever.

She would have to give them an answer and she had to give it soon.

Oh, her troubles are just increasing by the minute.

-

-

-

_Ohhhh-kay. I know this chapter is not as well written as the first, at least that is what I think, and I apologise for that._

_I know that some of you may think that I am dragging it too much by adding it stuff that may seem redundant in your eyes but it is important to me to explain these little details, so please put up with me a little longer._

_One good point of this chapter is that I think it is easier to digest, I think. If you know what I mean._

_This chapter does not have anything exceptionally important or much related to the main point that this story revolves around but you will see some of that in the next chapter, I can assure you that._

_I know I said I would start updating once school reopened and it is already the third week of school already but you have to understand that school reopening means there are lots of admin stuff to be settled(especially if you are in the class committee…) for example the members of the class committee, Chinese New Year decorations, class tee design and so on and forth, the list never ends. Also, we just had our initiation last week which is for my CCA, for the all the sec twos this year. Which also means there's a lot of preparations to be done and getting use to the uniform, yada,yada, yada. Not only that, my wallet and hand phone were stolen. Aren't I just so unlucky? _

_Anyways, I want to thank My Hopeless Romantic for agreeing to help me read through my chapters and correct any errors she may find. Thanks a lot. And also, thanks for supporting this story._

_Krissy(crazygirl18), I finally updated. Are you happy? xD I hope to see your next update soon too. Thanks for your support too._

_And those who haven't, go check out both of the authors mentioned above, (My Hopeless Romantic, crazygirl18)go NOW! They are both GREAT authors. I love their stories and I'm sure you will too._

_And finally, I would appreciate comments, criticizing or not. I know my writing isn't perfect, that is why I need YOU GUYS to help me perfect it. But no flames. There's no punching bag here so don't take it out on me. _

_Thanks for reading my story._

_**Sweet Pix ©**_


	3. Come Clean

Presenting

©**Alphaα & OmegaΩ**©

"**They say with every beginning, there's always an end**

**But can it also be with every end, there's a beginning?"**

A _Sweet Pix_ original

-

Chapter Three;

_**Come Clean**_

_Let the rain fall down_

_And wake my dreams_

_Let it wash away_

_My sanity_

'_Cause I wanna feel the thunder_

_I wanna scream_

_Let the rain fall down_

_I'm coming clean, I'm coming clean, oh…_

-

-

-

Natsume was seething with anger. Every fiber of his being was emitting his fiery rage, creating a thick wall of ominous air about him, thus repelling everyone who approached him.

How could _he_, he practically yelled in his mind, how could he have let her gotten away?!

He reached up once again to rake his fingers through his thoroughly tousled raven hair, another warning signal of his exceedingly bad mood.

A fireball appeared suddenly in his open palm and he haphazardly threw it in whatever direction came to mind.

Fortunately for us, the floors hallway he was currently walking down was deserted. And made of marble.

A low growl rose in his throat as this genius found himself finally beaten.

But, he thought, at least I'm not the only one. The particular notion made the corners of his lips lift into his trademark smirk.

[~α&Ω~]

Hotaru flumed with silent fury, a fire raging violently in her amethyst orbs.

How dare she?!

How dare that Mikan Sakura to make her waste _one whole day_ chasing after her?! And with no results too!

The fire blazing within her spread further as she thought of how Hyuuga would be taking pleasure in her current situation. Oh, but rest assure, he would be paying his dues.

Now, she will be savoring the sweet taste of revenge!

A malicious glint entered her mauve orbs as an ominous grin lit up her elfin countenance.

[~α&Ω~]

At this moment, Mikan Sakura was in her room, hiding beneath her thick duvet, shivering as she contemplated her fate while cursing her own folly.

Oh why, oh why, she moaned silently, did she have to give two of the most infamous characters of Alice Academy a reason to torture her??

She gave herself two solid knocks on the head though it just made her migraine grew in a huge proportion.

Another evidence of her utter foolishness.

She gently rubbed the throbbing spot as she mourned for her ominous future.

[~α&Ω~]

Narumi chuckled at the scenes he saw through the crystal ball before him.

Kids these days…

A melancholy smile soon took over the grin on his countenance.

"Enjoy these days you have Mikan, I really wish you will."

Serina sighed at the sight before her. Narumi truly gave all of his heart to his precious students while she…

She would need to make improvements in herself, Serina thought determinedly.

[~α&Ω~]

Mikan was aching all over, worn out both physically and emotionally.

Her day had started off with a rather creative wake up call from one of Hotaru's inventions which sent a dripping wet Mikan flying straight into the face of…

Natsume Hyugga.

Orbs scarlet with terrorizing rage stared down upon, raining strong glares mercilessly down upon her.

She gulped down a mixture of air and her own saliva as she felt herself literally paralysed in fear. In the current state Natsume was in, he was capable of doing anything. And those that angered him never came to a good end.

True to it all, Mikan was sent running all over the campus with an ablaze butt that refused to extinguish even with her nullifying turned on to full power.

When she finally got to the classroom, she realized a moment too late she had cut in during Jin-Jin's raved ranting of the laws of indices and what not.

After having her ears nearly blasted off, she was thrown out of the classroom as a punishment. Jin-Jin's last words before leaving to her own devices were that he expected her to take her own notes.

No copying.

She groaned in response to which she heard a soft snigger. She might as well use this 'free period' to prepare herself for a long, trying day ahead of her.

After all, she had just enraged the top two notorious characters in Gakuen Alice. To offend even one alone was a disaster itself, but two? It was a catastrophe!

Of course, that was just exactly what she got, which brings us back to the present, where a sore and unsuspecting Mikan was headed towards her dormitory.

Opening the door, the fact that she had lowered her guard too early gradually sunk in her slow mind.

But, naturally, the realisation had hit her in the face far too late. Literally.

The back of her head connected with the cold, hard ground as she begun seeing stars swimming in her vision. Two cold 'hands' fastened themselves on her ankles and she felt herself being dragged into her room.

Her vision cleared as she heard the faint 'click' of the door closing. Moaning lowly, she slowly sat up to face both Hotaru and Natsume, who was, for once, not reading any of his stupid manga.

Mikan whimpered as her hand unintentionally came in contact with the bump that had surfaced on the spot where her head had hit the floor.

Her interrogators gave her no mercy as another of Hotaru's machinery pulled her up harshly and shoved her into the chair positioned beforehand in front of the two that were holding her captive in her own room. Their hard stares indicated one common thing-their demand for answers.

Mikan grew nervous. She was not supposed to share the particular snippet of information that they were asking for. She had promised. Mikan Sakura was not one to break her promises.

'Oh Narumi-sensei, where are you when I need you?'

[~α&Ω~]

**Meanwhile, in a café in Central Town..**

"Ah-Chooooo!"

Narumi let out a huge sneeze just before his lips managed to reach the rim of his cup.

He immediately whipped out his hanky to rid himself of the embarrassing snot that dribbled down his nose.

'Someone must be talking bad about me.'

[~α&Ω~]

Mikan sighed.

She finally came to the terms that it was impossible to withhold any information that Hotaru Imai desired. Not to mention when she was coupled with Natsume Hyuuga.

'I'm sorry, Narumi-sensei.'

Her wandering eyes eventually cut back to the stoic pair that stood before her in their silent demand.

She gulped audibly.

"Eto…" Mikan tugged on a lock of her silky hair, trying to delay the inevitable, " what do you want to know?"

This promptly awarded her with another attack from the horse shoe glove.

"You know what we want, so don't ask stupid questions, baka," the notorious Natsume Hyuuga said in his usual impassive tone.

She sighed. Again. Seems like there was no way to put off this, she mused.

"Well, I only just got know of this myself, you know, and I _promised_ that I wouldn't tell anyone, even you, Hotaru but I don't think that would stop you would it?" Helplessness coloured her question as she gave a quick glance in Hotaru's way.

"Will Mikan Sakura please report to the middle division principal's office now? I repeat, will Mikan Sakura please report to the middle division principal's office now?" the amplified voice rang out crystal clear over the PA system.

Mikan sent an apologetic glance their way, immediately regretting as she got caught up in the intensity of their glares.

"Look guys, I-" she had said not but two words before she was rudely interrupted.

"I repeat, NOWWW!!!" the badly hidden panic in the high pitched screech that blasted from the overhead speakers had reached their ears(it would have been a wonder if it did not) and done some serious damage.

Knowing the wrath that she would be facing if she did not take some quick action, Mikan hastily gave them a half-hearted wave before skipping out of her own room, not bothering to close the door as she knew the notorious would not be staying much longer within the room.

She could not suppress the gleeful smile and relief that broke through her some sort of impassive mask(at least according to her standards) as she made her way to the office, knowing that she had managed to snatch back some time till she had no choice but to reveal the plans in store for her, at least the little that she knew of.

[~α&Ω~]

Pausing in front of the solid oak door, she took the moment to calm the whirlwind of emotions and drew in a deep breath. Once convinced that she was as ready as she could be, she rapped her white knuckles upon the sturdy door that separated her and her scary fate.

"Come in," a deep voice had uttered the two words with much more power and confidence than Mikan had ever expected. But of course, Mikan Sakura was hardly ever prepared for anything that came her way in the extraordinary life she had so far.

The heavy-set timbered door was hard to shift, even the slightest, and she had to resort to pressing her own body weight onto the door before it finally gave in to her will.

With slightly quickened breath which she drew in with a sharp, audible gasp, she fell sideways into the grand room, landing most spectacularly on her rear end.

"Ow, ow, ow, owwwww," Mikan groaned and whined as she picked herself up gradually, rubbing her derriere the whole time, taking no notice of her surroundings, as per normal.

Narumi could not help the muted, amused giggle that escaped his previously tightly pressed together lips as he watched his surrogate daughter's antics.

At the sound of his laughter, Mikan snapped her head in one swift motion, too swiftly perhaps, as she let loose another volley of groans, her hand shooting up to her slender neck instead.

Perhaps this would teach her to think before she act, Narumi mused. Watching her as she bashed the tip of shoe into the unforgiving wall, he shook his head lightly.

No, she will never learn…

The two seemed almost like they had no inkling of the one other presence in the room, only coming to their full senses as they heard the discreet coughing of the clearly irritated man sitting behind a desk made of, once again, sturdy oak.

Narumi turned to give the man a low bow, satisfied to see from the corner of his eye that Mikan had been wise enough to mimic his movements.

"I apologise, Kazu-sama, for the slight distraction."

The discreet coughing on the word 'slight' had shown the principal's obvious disagreement with the statement.

"Okay now, enough digressing," the principal said.

His previously mischievous chocolate orbs had turned serious.

"Mikan, I'm sorry to say that you will have to be leaving the school _today_. The consequences will be dire if you do not. Pack all of your stuff; make sure that you don't leave anything behind. We do not want to leave anything behind that will give _them_ clues to your whereabouts; this is most essential." He whirled around on his high backed chair to turn to face the blank screen behind him. "Narumi will escort you to your dormitory and ensure that you have a safe journey. Go, go now."

His voice held a note of finality that one could not disregard.

Mikan's petite frame trembled along with her voice as she answered, "Hai, Kazu-sama."

[~α&Ω~]

Thousands of thoughts assaulted her mind as she walked alongside Narumi in an unusual bout of silence.

What happened to the one month she had to prepare?

How was she going to say goodbye to my friends, my family that she would have to leave behind here?

Among her thoughts was the deepest desire to revoke what she had wished for just moments before, the wish to avoid having to answer to Hotaru and Natsume.

She would rather have to tell them the plans in store for her in the future(or rather present, now) a thousand times, a million times, than being caught in this situation, where she had no chance to bid her friends a proper farewell or see them till God knows when.

Unconsciously, her crystalline tears had begun to fall, rolling down her smooth cheek to drip down from her chin to her clothes. All of these had gone on without even as much as an opening of her mouth from Mikan.

Narumi, consumed by his own emotions and thoughts, had not noticed till the duo had finally reached the oak door that separated them from Mikan's dormitory room. For a second, he was frozen in surprise, and then he reached over and enveloped her in a warm hug, letting her nestle in it.

"I'm sorry, Mikan. I know I had promised you more time but fate has other plans in store. I am really sorry about this but we don't have much of a choice. It truly was not a decision for us to make in the first place," he whispered soothingly, his lips close enough to her ear such that she heard each and every word clearly.

Finally realizing the stinging of the tears in her chocolate brown eye , Mikan gave in to her urge to cry. She sobbed quietly into the comforting warmth of her otou-san's chest, reveling in the feel of it as part of her knew this was probably one of the last time she would have the chance to be even this close to her otou-san for a very, very, very long time.

She heard the soft click of her room door unlocking and the gentle tug on her as Narumi guided her into the privacy of her room.

Settling on her bed, Mikan cried long and hard in Narumi's arms.

It was so unfair, just so unfair, like how Natsume had to take life endangering missions so very often.

That reminded her, what about Natsume? Even as she sobbed, the clogs of her mind were moving. She knew she had to do something for Natsume, one last thing she did for him before her departure. Letting her tears dry, Mikan slowly ceased her sobs. Raising her tear-stained face, she looked deep into Narumi's violet orbs.

"Otou-san, could I request this one last thing before I leave? Please?" her distraught plea literally broke Narumi's heart into two. The poor child…

Seeing his nod, Mikan continued, "I wish to have Natsume stop taking those horrible missions."

Mikan could see the shock clearly reflected in his violet orbs and she pleaded even more desperately, "Please, Otou-san, at least till I return… Please, I would do anything in return!"

"Are you sure about that, Mikan?"

His somber voice had not much effect on the distressed girl who nodded eagerly in reply.

He sighed.

"Alright, then. I will bring this up for you with the principal. But there will be a heavy price to pay, Mikan, I have to warn you that in advance as this affair involves the elementary school principal. As to the price itself, you will come to know in time."

Mikan seemed not to be able to hear a single word of what he said as she basked in the relief of being able to do one last thing for her precious person.

"Come on, Mikan. We need to start packing if we want to leave on time." Narumi broke her out of her stupor with a slight pull on her hand which he wrapped in his own huge one.

Mikan felt like she was the passenger instead of the driver in her own body as she watched Narumi pulled her around her the room, throwing neatly folded stacks of clothes into open bags she most definitely did not remember being there just minutes before.

So caught up in her own misery, (she seemed to be doing that a lot today, she mused to herself, getting caught up in her own mind that is) she had not realized that Narumi had completed his mission in emptying her room.

The sight of the vacant room around her left a similar feeling in her heart.

Melancholy and despair bubbled up within her, along with the want to start weeping afresh.

But she knew. She knew that her tears would be shed in vain. She knew that it would only inflict more regret and pain on the watching Narumi. She knew that it would only cause her stinging heart to ache even more and result in more unwillingness to part on her part.

And also more pain on Hotaru and Natsume and all her other friends if they were witnessing this sight. Which she could bet was already happening seeing as there was no chance Hotaru would ever let her room go bug-free.

Wallowing in her wretchedness, she stared glumly at the floor.

Narumi sighed, knowing that it would have to take more persuading if he wanted to get her out in time.

Then, creativity hit him at the most unexpected time. Or should I say common sense.

"Mikan, tell you what, how about I go bring these bags down to the car to load while you go say your goodbyes to Hotaru-chan, Natsume-chan and all your other friends, whom I sure would be arriving here any moment now. So… I'll see you at the car? It will be waiting downstairs, at the main gates."

The sight of the slight look of hope blossoming in her tear stained face as she nodded vigorously sent about a dull throbbing in his heart. Oh, the poor dear…

Narumi sighed, for the umpteenth time of the day as he effortlessly lifted the bags bulging with clothes and other commodities and left the vacant room.

Once Narumi left the room, Mikan plopped down on her bed.

"What am I going to do?! What am I going to say?!" she wailed, wringing her hands.

Suddenly, she felt the floor vibrating and the sound of what seemed to be a herd of elephants stampeding coming her way.

"Oh no…" Mikan's eyes widened considerably, frozen at her spot on the bed. She had a bad feeling about what's coming…

"BAM!"

The door slammed open loudly and the next thing Mikan knew, she was surrounded by hordes of people crowding in around her, bombarding her with their questions.

Unable to stand the chatter any longer, she yelled out loud, eyes squeezed tightly shut.

"STOPPP!!"

The room was instantly filled with pin-drop silence.

"Good. So what were your questions again?" she inquired, cocking her head to the side slightly.

Once again, the bauble overloaded her senses. She sighed, shaking her head.

Taking a deep breath, she shouted once again, "STOP!"

Seeing everyone fall silent, she continued, voice thick with fatigue, "Now, can we please proceed but one by one this time."

At this the crowd parted, giving way to a Hotaru seated within one of her many machines, which seemed to made particularly for this purpose, by the looks of the two big hands on each side of the machinery that gently separated the swarm of students, with an acutely irate Natsume following behind, muttering beneath his breath, "I hate crowds."

Gracefully getting out of the mechanism, she declared in a soft whisper, "Finally."

Approaching the stock still Mikan rooted in her position on her bed, the two resembled very much a predator hunting its prey. Mikan could not help her eyes widening in terror as she watched the duo slowly advance towards her.

"So, Mikan, when _exactly_ were you planning to inform us of your little departure?" Hotaru voice was lowered into a deadly whisper, venom dripping from her words as a hauntingly beautiful smile was plastered on her delicate features.

"Hn."

Natsume let out a grunt as a tiny fire lit up above the tapered tip of his outstretched index finger.

Recovering from her daze, Mikan stared in terror, heart battering against the inner side of her ribcage as she started out, stammering," Ano… I didn't really had much p-pl-planned out… Yeah! There's too much stuff in my head! No space for that… Hee hee…"

Mikan laughed nervously to cover up the spontaneous lie she had come up with, caramel orbs darting about the small room, falling on everything but the two figures before her.

"Oh, really?" Hotaru questioned her ominously, an unspoken threat hanging thickly in the heavy atmosphere.

"Y-Ye…Yeah, of course! Why would I lie to _you_, Hotaru?" The fear and uneasiness was painted out clearly in her voice. One would not even need Koko's alice to see through her lie.

"Even a three year old lies better than you, Polka, so let's not pretend otherwise," Natsume's tone was cold and biting as ruthless crimson orbs clouded with fury bore into Mikan.

Mikan shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

Wringing her hands painfully, she wailed, "Okay, okay, I didn't plan to tell any of you! But it was all so sudden… And all so scary… And so sad! I didn't know what to tell you all! I didn't want you all to be upset! I just want to see a smile on your faces before I leave!"

She was experiencing an emotional roller coaster as she sobbed hysterically, breaking down completely once again.

Sniffing, she choked out through sobs, "I'm-I'm sorry, guys… I just- I just couldn't say it!"

Sighing, Hotaru lay down the baka gun that she had gotten ready in hand as she took her bawling friend into her arms.

"Hotaruuuu!!!" Mikan wailed dramatically as she embraced her best friend.

"Awwwww…"

Sniffling could be heard as some of the crowd shed their tears at the heartwarming scene before them, a few even taking out a hanky and blowing their noses.

"Cut the theatrics, Polka. You being a god damn Drama Queen."

Natsume's icy baritone interrupted the touching scene at hand. At this, Mikan turned her full blown heated glace on the criminal.

Jumping on her feet, she said through gritted teeth, "Who are _you_ to say that, Hyuuga? Don't you have any emotions, huh? You just _had_ to break up that moving episode between two best friends, did you?"

Chuckling darkly, Natsume retorted, " Who do you think you are, Polka? The female lead of a soap opera?"

The heated bickering went on as usual as insults were repeatedly thrown back and forth between the couple while the people around them just sighed.

'Here we go again,' though Sumire sarcastically as she rolled her emerald orbs.

"I agree with Natsume."

The quiet whisper cut through the argument as the spotlight turned back to train on the delicate, forgotten figure seated gracefully upon the soft duvets of the lone bed.

"Don't think of escaping my punishment, Mikan. You _will_ feel my wrath for keeping such a big matter from me."

The clipped tone continued expertly.

"Now, back to the subject at hand. Mikan, has Narumi told you anything about your stay at the America Alice Academy?"

"Huh?" Mikan stared blankly at her best friend as her slow mind struggled to catch up.

"Has. That. Gay. Teacher. Said. Anything."

Natsume accentuated each carefully as his temper came alarmingly close to exploding.

Cocking her head ever so cutely, Mikan said, "Are you talking about Otou-san? If you are, then stop calling him that! It's reaaaallllllyyyyyyy rude and Otou-san is our sensei. We've got to respect-"

"Answer the question, Polka," Natsume forced out through gritted teeth as he felt his patience swiftly winding down to zilch.

"Oh. He didn't really tell me much, only that I was going to another branch of Alice Aca- Wait a minute! Did you say America, Hotaru? But isn't that like, ALL THE WAY ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD!!!!! Nooooooo!!! Where will I see the Sakura trees in bloom? Where will I get my weekly supply of Fluff Puffs? And how can I come and visit all of you?"

Mikan went from calm to hysterical, then to sad.

Her 'depression' was abruptly interjected by the monotone of Hotaru's voice.

"There are Sakura trees in the Academy, idiot. They have a Japanese principal too. And there is definitely a Central Town there, no need to say a Fluff Puff shop. And, did you knock your head against the wall and got amnesia? Did you forget that students aren't allowed to go _out_ of the Academy?"

"Really? Do they really have Sakura trees and fluff puffs there too?" Mikan asked Hotaru, hands clasped together beneath her chin, chocolate orbs shinning.

Mikan continued fantasizing as the people around her faded into the background while the rest just ignored her.

The group of Mikan's closest friends were gathered up in the front, silently discussing the situation thrust upon them.

Frowning, Hotaru said, "We still don't know what they're sending Mikan there for. And the idiot didn't even think of asking. There isn't much I could dig up. The closest I got is that the high school principal and the Japanese principal over there have been always been in contact with each other, only it has increased recently."

At this Yuu gave his opinions, "Then the Japanese principal must hold a significant role in all of this. You know, that Principal, Mr. Hitomi, had studied here before moving to America. I heard he had a special power other than his Alice. It was exceptional, even compared to his Alice _itself_, which I heard was an elemental Alice."

Koko broke the astounded silence that followed as he whistled in awe.

"Wow…That must be _some_ power."

-

-

-

_Haha, I'm not dead. I'm kicking and living! Yeah! Sorry for not updating for sooooo long but the year so far really has been a roller coaster for me. But still, that's no excuse for abandoning this fic. I have to ask all of the readers for your forgiveness. _

_I know I haven't really been seen on for a while now, (okay, except the Hilare Challenge) but that's because I felt bad about reviewing while I have not replied all of your heartfelt reviews. And I'm really sorry about that too. It's just that, I promised myself that I would have to finish up this chapter before replying and I had this really brilliant idea that I had LOTS of inspiration for so I kept working on that one and this one was pushed to the back of my mind. Yeah, so, sorry. Especially to Kristy. I felt _so_ bad not reviewing for your last chapter on Somewhere I'll Find You, but honestly, I felt it was unfair to the other reviewers. So I'm really, really, really sorry for that._

_I'm actually having a week long holiday now, that's why you're seeing me online now. But I'm supposed to be studying for my end of year exams next month and boy, there is one heck of load of studying I have to do. So be grateful I'm updating now. MUAHAHAHAHAH. (kidding!) _

_Okay, so tell me your comments on this chapter and I promise I'll update faster coz I already have planned out the next chapter, although it's not written yet. But no flames, thank you. _

_That's all for now. Thanks for reading. I love you guys; your reviews make my day. (:_

_**Sweet Pix ©**_


	4. Do You Remember?

©**Alphaα & OmegaΩ**©

"**They say with every beginning, there's always an end**

**But can it also be with every end, there's a beginning?"**

A _Sweet Pix_ original

Chapter Four;

_**Do you remember?**_

_Do you remember,_

_Do you remember ,_

_Do you remember _

_All the times we had?_

_Let's bring it back_

He had hated that power.

With fervor passion.

Even now, as an adult, he was only neutral about it on good days, no need to mention the bad ones. As he matured, he had learnt to accept it, for this was his lot it life and he could either deal with it or end up drowning himself in misery and hatred.

Naturally, he had chosen the former, which led to the person he was today.

Even so, there were occasions on which he wished he did not have to deal with his wild and problematic power, which pretty much was most of the time.

However, this time, for the first time in his whole life, he was finally starting to be partial towards this power.

And it was all because of _that_.

That single slice of bittersweet paradise that warned him of the start of the earth's doom…

It was also the first time that he felt that he had a purpose in life, a desire to walk down this path of life, instead of being the wandering spirit he was, going wherever the wind took him.

But still, was it a blessing or a curse?

He still could not tell…

"_Onii-tan!" The sweet melody rang through the air, standing out clearly among the whistling of the breeze and rustling of the leaves and grass._

_Slowly turning his head around, his cobalt locks whipping around along with his movement, the young only managed to catch a blur of brown before the air in his midriff was completely knocked out. Any remaining air was let out in a sharp gasp as the grip around his waist tightened painfully._

"_Onii-tan, onii-tan, onii-tannnn!" The musical voice wailed pitifully as ivory arms locked around the well-built torso of the dashing young man. _

"_Why have you been gone for sooooo long? I've been so worried, you know! I haven't been able to eat or rest peacefully since the day you left! Bad onii-tan, bad onii-tan!" With that, the young, ethereal beauty loosened her grasp on the young men and instead, started pounding upon his muscular chest._

"_Ow, ow, ow! Stop it! That hurts, you little squirt!" The young man grumbled audibly as he tried in vain to stop the hard blows that belied the child's appearance from raining down on him. _

"_It's. Your. Own. Fault. For. Making. Me. Worry!" The delicate hands punctuated each word with a strike from the merciless fists they formed as big, rolling tears of anger and relief poured down the angelic countenance._

_His irritation hit its peak as he turned a strong glare full force upon the ostensibly beatific figure before him. _

_He seized the unforgiving pair of fists in a tight clench with one hand as he shouted, annoyance deeply colouring his tone, "That's enough, Youjo!" _

_The young girl ignored him and continued sobbing, wailing loudly still, "It's all your fault onii-tan, all your fault! It's all your fault the other kids are laughing at me! It's all your fault for not protecting me! It's all your fault Mama died!"_

_At this, the young man finally understood the reason behind the young girl's actions as he blew out a heavy sigh. _

_Letting go of the young girl's hands, he bent down and gently brought her into his arms, while soothingly rubbing her back in slow motions as the young girl wept piteously._

"_It hurts, onii-tan, it hurts so much, onii-tan…"_

"_Shhh," the young man hushed the young girl, unable to listen on any longer._

_He knew what happened and it broke his heart into two. But he also knew that it was a problem that he could not solve for her. There would be more setbacks and obstacles in her rocky future than ever and she had to learn to be strong and steel herself against such things aimed her way._

_However, at that moment, Mikan's trembling frame felt so fragile in his arms, he couldn't bear the thought of exposing her to great waves and storms of this dangerous ocean of a world. He yearned to keep her in his arms like this and protect her from any threat that came her way. _

_But he knew, that was not to be._

_Pulling the young girl away from his shoulder, he looked her firmly in the eye, resolve hardening as he said decisively, "Mikan, I know this hurts but you have to be strong. Be strong and face this all like the brave soul I know you are. Be strong for your Papa and onii-chan. Be strong, no matter what happens in the future, and remember that Mama, Papa and onii-chan will always watch over you…"_

_Watching the young girl's determined expression and great efforts to clear her angelic face of tears, his heart sung with pride, pride for this strong imouto he had…_

[~α&Ω~]

Sniffling, a teary-eyed Mikan dramatically waved a white handkerchief in the air, then dabbing at the corner of her big chocolate orbs with it.

"Goodbye, my beloved friends. Goodbye, my beloved family. Goodbye, my beloved- Ouch! That hurts, Hotaru!"

The brunette wailed as she rubbed the spot her best friend had hit her with the horse shoe glove.

"Stop acting like a Drama Queen. Narumi gave us three hours and it's still far from ending," was Hotaru's cold reply.

"But, but, but don't you feel sad, Hotaru? You won't be seeing your best friend for a long, long, LONG time!" Mikan exclaimed, bottom lip trembling slightly.

"What are you saying? I'll always be able to see money," Hotaru replied vaguely.

"Huh? What are you talking about, Hotaru?" a confused Mikan questioned in return.

"She means money is her best friend, Baka Youjo."

Natsume appeared behind them, pointing out Hotaru's obvious jibe to the slow Mikan.

"Natsume! Don't scare me like that! And how can you say that? I'm definitely Hotaru's best friend!"

And the bickering commenced again.

Giggling, Anna commented, "They're so cute! Even up to the last moment! Squabbling like a-"

At this Nonoko cut in and both said in unison, eyes sparkling as they clasped their hands together, "Married Couple!"

The group chuckled in both amusement and agreement as their gaze swiveled to the wrangling young couple.

They were attracting quite a number of stares by now, with their raised voices and fiery atmosphere (note: mostly applicable to only Mikan. Scratch that, it _was_ ONLY Mikan) as they were strolling (supposedly) through Central Town.

The lot of them decided to spend their last moments having fun at Central Town, and with that, fulfilling Mikan's last wish. But, predictably, they ended up watching Mikan and Natsume daily dose of childish banter. Again.

And it was in this manner that the day was spent. The last day that they would see the girl for a long time to come, the girl who had brought the light and laughter into their days.

This particular matter had been flung to the back of their minds for most of the time, this much was clear, as one could see the wistful looks their countenances took upon at times as their eyes fell upon the laughing brunette, realising yet again their time together was quickly spiraling to an end.

However, there was not anything that could be done to remedy it.

Yet, when the end had finally come, it was still hard for them to accept the fact that the young girl who had literally brought the life into their lives, was going to be gone from their side, and for a very, very long time too…

[~α&Ω~]

It's been a week since he last saw Mikan.

The dull throb in his heart reminded him constantly of the absence of the sunshine in his life. She was gone to God knows where and despite a daily dose of threats and insults, Narumi's lips just _wouldn't _loosen.

No one had the slightest idea of the reason behind Mikan's hasty departure, though Natsume's intuition led him to suspect the High School Divison Principle involvement. After all, it was only after her meeting with him that Mikan began acting strange.

Truth to be told, there was another reason for Natsume's persistent perusal of Mikan's whereabouts. Lately, he was plagued by a set of reoccurring dreams that left him feeling extremely uneasy and unsettled, a set of dreams that contained Mikan. As hazy and vague as they were, Natsume got a distinct vibe that they were trying to send a message to him. The content of the message, however, he wasn't sure.

He just knew, deep down inside, that he shouldn't have let her out of his sight.

And he was right.

[~α&Ω~]

Mikan spun in a slow circle around her, gaping in awe at the grandeur of the structures towering above her all around. Their exquisiteness and majesty simply radiated off them, reaching the Mikan that dwarfed in comparison to their splendor.

Completely oblivious to her surroundings, Mikan continued her examination of the beautiful campus as she paced backwards, her thoughts of wonderment and admiration a clear statement upon her countenance. She never noticed the soft footfalls approaching, neither did she notice the rustling of crisp pages sounding just behind her.

"Oof!"

Mikan felt the breath knocked out of her midriff as she impacted heavily against another body, landing her behind gob smack upon the concrete path.

"Itai…" she mumbled, screwing up her eyes tightly as she rubbed her sore behind, all the while refusing to leave the ground.

"Gomen. Let me help you up," a gentle voice tinkled quietly, resounding pleasantly in Mikan's ears.

Mikan tilted her head up to face the source of that sweet voice to find a breathtakingly beautiful young girl around her age offering an alabaster hand to her. The vision of the girl shimmered and merged with another, where the same fair skinned girl was donning an old-fashioned, vividly red dress as Mikan was struck with a distinct sense of déjà vu.

Shaking her head violently, Mikan cleared her mind of the strange feeling and image. Opening her eyes, she was relieved to find the image had disappeared and that the girl was sporting the familiar uniform of the Alice Academy.

"Hey hey! You're studying here, aren't you? You see, I'm new here and I wonder if you could show me around. I mean, this branch of Alice Academy is soooooo big and as much as I'm having fun admiring it, I really need to get to know the place soon. I can't be getting lost every single day here, can I? I mean, that would completely whacko and stuff and I would be getting into totally deep trouble if that happens. Especially if the teachers are like Jin-Jin back in my old Alice Academy. He goes completely gaga when you're even one teeny second late to his class! Isn't that totally psycho?"

Mikan being Mikan had gotten up on her own in her excitement, completely oblivious to the hand that was proffered to her, and almost immediately started babbling to this absolute stranger of a girl.

Absorbed as she was, Mikan did not noticed how the girl's olive orbs had glazed over and her delicate brows had knitted together to join in the middle. Yet, through it all, her gaze never once left Mikan's face.

"… And he was like, I expect to see your notes fully complete! And no copying! Hey, are you alright?" Mikan's animated gestures halted to a stop once she finally noticed the girl's out of ordinary behavior, her voice taking on a concerned note as she questioned the girl.

Snapping back to reality, the crease between her brows smoothened as her delicate features took on an expression of indifference.

Picking up her books that scattered across the gravel pavement, she gave a curt nod to the baffled Mikan before striding away quickly, soon leaving Mikan's line of sight.

Slow as ever, Mikan only reacted when the girl had long vanished out of her vision.

"Hey wait! You haven't even told me your name!

[~α&Ω~]

Humming to herself merrily, the girl danced along the pathway lined with Sakura trees. She was only too happy to realise that this Academy had her favourite Cherry Blossoms.

Engrossed as she was in her newfound joy, though, her keen eyes did not miss the lone figure that nestled in the shade of an ancient looking Cherry Blossoms. She could vaguely make out the shape enough to identity his gender yet it was not to enough to sate that wave of curiosity that rose within her.

Warily, she made her approach through little strides, all the while her obsidian orbs seeking the solitary form ardently.

Seated under the tree, his back leant against the sturdy bark of the aged Sakura as he slumbered peacefully under its protection. His lashes fluttered gently in the slight breeze, as did the ruffled locks of his silky navy hair. His lips looked soft and delicate as they parted slighted in his sleep. His chest rose and fell with his soft breathing, creating a lovely rhythm in the quiet noon.

Hikaru stood entranced before the striking man, drawn in by the utter peace and contentment his countenance held while he dozed on. Her breathe caught in her throat as she found an unknown ache rising in her chest, pouring into every fiber of her heart and soul, while she persisted in her examination of this complete stranger.

Yet, it did not feel that way. It seemed like her entire being was calling to him, her heart thrumming to a beat that was only found around him, singing for him, drawing them together.

A familiar wave of dizziness washed over her, as her vision blurred before her. The quiet echoing of nature faded around her as another kind of quiet replaced it…

_Sobs tore out of her lips as they wrecked her delicate frame. She could not believe that he was leaving her. It was too soon! Far too soon! They had only been together for three weeks and now he was going off on another of his expenditures!_

"_Shhhh…" the gentle lull of his voice combined his tender strokes soothed her jangled nerves immensely._

_She could not except that she would be able to hear that reassuring voice for another three months! Their time together was always too short. When would they ever be able to stay by each other's side forever?_

_These doubts wrecked havoc upon her wretched mind, tearing her apart from within._

_A bitter chill struck her as the warmth of his body left hers. She did not care. Her heart wrenching cries persisted as the man left her side._

_The mattress sunk in with his weight as he settled down once again on the spot beside her. She felt him slip something around her neck as he pried away the fingers that she had buried her tear streaked face into. _

_Looking down, she saw their ring hanging on a simple but elegant chain. _

"_This is my promise to you, as long as you wear that ring, as long as there are still Cherry Blossoms around you, I will never leave your side…" his clear, resounding voice cut through her melancholy as she tilted her face up to look into those startling orbs an icy shade of blue…_

Jolting back to reality, Hikaru could feel her heart going a mile a minute in its cage.

What was that?

The feelings that were stirred within her were unsettling to say the least. It was entirely different from the vision that had brought her here in the first place.

It was almost as if… her heart was trying to make her remember. But what?

At this moment, the young man stirred from his deep sleep, almost as if he had heard the frantic thoughts running through her mind as loudly as it would have been if she had uttered them.

Frozen in her spot, Hikaru stood motionless as she watched him lazily rubbing his eyes while his pale pink lips formed a small 'O'.His eyelids fluttered open, revealing his mesmerising eyes to world around him.

Hikaru felt the world about her stop as she suddenly lost her ability to breathe. His eyes were the exact shade of shockingly pale blue!

What was happening here?

Meanwhile, Haru was completely oblivious to the attention he had garnered and was frankly still rather out of it. He just could not keep his mind off the dream that had plagued him since the prophecy had first been set in motion. It had almost completely shattered his past beliefs of his accursed "special" Alice and he was still reeling from that.

Finally focusing on his surroundings, his alice blue orbs were met by a pair of shaken hazel ones.

A shiver of electricity ran along his skin.

They were so familiar. And entrancing. They drew him in completely, leaving him sinking in a sea of alluring hazel. There was something about that exact shade of brown that felt so close to his heart, that hit that sweet spot right into his soul.

It was only when the same sick surge of dizziness did the warning bells start sounding. She was one of the others, he was sure of it. The stunned expression upon her lovely countenance was just another confirmation to his theory.

Fighting for control over his mind, he forcefully pushed away that feeling before he could be dragged into the trench filled with those dreaded fuzzy images.

This is not the time for it, he reasoned with his mind and heart, there was too much to be done and too little time.

Plastering a serene smile on his countenance, he lifted himself off the lush grass, brushing past the shell shocked after he had dusted himself off, ignoring the relentless tugging on his heart that fought for his attention.

[~α&Ω~]

Esmera strolled along the long corridors, seemingly floating with her inborn grace and petite form. Her orbs of jade were trained upon the lines of words that spanned the page of the lengthy volume she cradled in her slender hands, but that was all they were to her– empty words strung together to make sentences that held no meaning to her.

Her mind was too far away to ponder upon their significance.

Flashes of her earlier incidental meeting assaulted her mind, coupled with the overlapping of certain images stolen from the dream, or more appropriate, the trance that had brought her here.

She was quite certain that the girl in her dreams and the girl she had met earlier were one and the same. They held the same sparkle in their warm chocolate orbs and the same enchantment in their brilliant smiles that when united, created an picture that she would not be able to erase from her memory for the rest of eternity…

_The little garden was filled with blooming flowers that held an otherworldly beauty. _

_Yet, there was a single flaw to this picture of perfection. _

_Within it's grounds lies a weeping figure with the hem of her exquisite dress muddied and soiled from her prolonged resting upon the wet earth, so full of melancholy that clawed at any by stander who happened to stumble upon this heartrending sight. _

_However, this would have been applicable to all but one person - the very same girl who stood before the miserable young girl. _

_"Why do you cry?" _

_Her voice was as soft as the wind that was whispering in her ears yet it lacked the gentleness of the soothing breeze. In place, there was nothing but an empty void of monotone._

_The tear streaked countenance that met her surprised her. _

_There was hope shining through the veil of grief that coated her chocolate orbs. A flicker of warmth bled through Hikaru's cold exterior to her chiseled heart of ice. _

_"You don't hate me too, do you?" her tiny voice trembled as she questioned timidly. _

_Hikaru shook her head lightly. _

_How could she hate this girl? She looked so utterly helpless and vulnerable that Hikaru had the strange urge to protect this fragile creature._

_A small smile broke through the tears as the girl asked, "So will you play with me?"_

_Cocking her head, a puzzled Hikaru answered with a question of her own, "How do you play?"_

_Abruptly, the little garden of Eden was full of ringing peals of tinkling laughter that filled the uncomfortable silence from before. The girl's gloomy demeanor had vanished and in place were sparkling hazel orbs with deep dimples that twinkled on both sides of her slightly parted cherry pink lips._

_Skipping onto her feet, she offered, an immense joy soaking each of her words as she spoke, "Come, I'll teach you!"_

_Grabbing the momentarily stunned Hikaru's hands, she pulled her into the shade of a young Sakura tree._

_Her smile was so bright... She was so radiant..._

Hikaru was sure that they were one and the same. And she had a feeling that they would meet again. Her intuition has never failed her.

[~α&Ω~]

"You silly goose! Wandering around the north wing all this while! We waited for you so long!" the ridiously bubbly woman exclaimed in her equally hyped up voice, with each sentence punctuated with an exclaimation mark.

Mikan could not help staring at the woman in a kind of horrified fascination. She never thought it was humanely possible for someone to be this happy and loud about it at the same time.

"The north wing is the newest of our campus! It was only added in the last decade! Isn't that just amazing?"

Mikan had long since tuned out to the upbeat lady who continued her high spirited demeanor, completely unaware of her inattentive charge. She glanced around, gaze never staying long on an object before another caught her eye.

They were walking through the main body of the campus, where the buildings mostly dated to a few centuries ago. Her short attention span had acquired from the woman that this was where Alice had all begun before it had shifted to something else more interesting than her high strung voice.

They turned down a lane that rested in the shade of numerous cherry blossom trees. Mikan was once agin struck by a profound sense of Deja vu. Flashes of images were running through her mind as she walked the path lined with rows of blooming Sakura trees, passing too quickly for her to make out a thing.

_She stared into the horizon beyond the little winding path, ignoring the beauty of her beloved trees. She could imagine the solid palace walls just off in the distance, dauntingly magnificent, bearing down on any who dared entertain the thought of conquering it; from outside or within._

Flash…

_Peals of bubbling laughter escaped her lips, echoing vibrantly in the open. Each delicate hand clutched a coarse rope as she was once again thrown into the air. The sky seemed so close, she thought, loosening her hold on one of the ropes and reaching out, almost as if she could touch it…_

Another flash…

_The prickling branches of the bush were poking into her flawless skin irritatingly. Even so, she kept her silence, muffled giggling escaping her as she pressed a soft hand to her lips. There was no way he was going to find her again this time._

"_Gotcha, squirt!"_

Flash again…

_She sniggered mischievously as she darted between the trees, running swifter than the breeze that tousled her honey brown locks._

_The heavy footsteps and harsh panting following closely behind only serve to delight her further as she chanted playfully, "You can't catch me, you can't catch me!"_

"_Young Mistress, come back here, you brat!"_

_She made a face at the formal address. It made her sound so old and... Boring. Yuck._

"_How many things have I told you not to call me that!"_

"'_Kay fine! Mikan! You stop where you are right this instance and stop torturing your poor maid!"_

_Mikan simply giggled in response. _

_"MIKANNNN!"_

"…Mikan?"

Mikan's eyes flew open. She hadn't even realised she had closed her eyes. The harsh sunlight pricked her eyes, as they slowly adjusted to the change in brightness. A worried countenance was focused before her, a hand waving frantically in her face.

"Mikan, are you alright?"

Blinking dazedly, Mikan stared at the woman before her stupidly.

What was she doing? What had happened just now?

The woman, however, took her blank gaze as an affirmative to her question and almost immediately bounced back to her vivacious ways.

"Just up ahead are dormitories! I think you'll be able to find your way from here on so good luck! Hope you'll be able to fit in quickly! Bye bye!"

With that, the upbeat woman pranced away, leaving a stunned Mikan in her wake.

That's it? No map? No instructions on her classes?

How odd... Seems like that was the only element of her new life at this academy since she arrived this morning.

Shaking it off easily, Mikan skipped down the winding path, completely oblivious to the two groups that slunk within the safeties of the shadows, their gaze holding fast upon her.

[~α&Ω~]

"She's finally here... Play time has just begun..." a dark voice spoke, the thinly veiled threat in it's words echoed ominously in the quiet.

[~α&Ω~]

_How has it been? I simply can't remember. Same goes to those who reviewed this pathetic story. I'm really sorry I didn't reply each of your reviews personally coz I really can't tell whom I've replied and whom I haven't. So sorry!_

_As for this story, don't expect too much. It's been a really busy year for me what with the choosing of courses and taking the reins as seniors in the school among other stuff. This chapter was a result of a lucky bout of inspiration so I'm not sure if that inspiration will continue coming in a steady stream, yeah. But I'll try. I seriously have close to no idea as to where this story is going so I'm basically just going with the flow for now._

_But if I get more reviews I may be a tad bit more inspired to write the next chapter which is currently not in exsistence. So yeah, keep the reviews coming and I promise I'll answer each one personally this time. Pinky swear! (:_

_xoxo _

_Sweet Pix_


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